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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27035968">It's just blood under the bridge</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/ichabodcranemills/pseuds/ichabodcranemills'>ichabodcranemills</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Whumptober 2020 [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Doctor Who, Doctor Who (2005)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Blindness, Blood, Doctor Who: Academy Era, Implied/Referenced Torture, Minor Character Death, Multi, Murder, Other, Power Dynamics, Prison, Psychic Bond, Rescue, The Rituals Are Intricate, The Vault (Doctor Who), The Year That Never Was (Doctor Who), Trauma, Unhealthy Relationships, Violence, Whumptober 2020, cyberium - Freeform</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-31</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 18:07:32</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>5</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>3,794</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27035968</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/ichabodcranemills/pseuds/ichabodcranemills</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Short moments of whump in the Doctor's life.</p><p>Each chapter follows one whumptober prompt and a different regeneration.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Tenth Doctor/The Master (Simm), The Doctor | Theta Sigma/The Master | Koschei (Doctor Who: Academy Era), The Doctor/The Master (Doctor Who), Thirteenth Doctor/The Master (Dhawan), Twelfth Doctor/Missy</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Whumptober 2020 [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1973176</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>65</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>Whumptober 2020</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Will these hands ne’er be clean?</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Academy Era. Torvic's murder. Prompt: no. 12,  broken bones</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Theta, look at me.”</p><p>His fingers are trembling, bloodied, and aching. Something’s broken for sure, from holding the rock or-</p><p>Koschei takes his hands in his own very gently. He’s saying something, but Theta can’t quite hear it. His ears are ringing and, at the edge of his vision, he sees something laying on the river bank. Something that looks a lot like a young man in Academy uniforms.</p><p>“Theta, please, just look at me,” he repeats, more desperately this time. He pushes a strand of hair away from his forehead, “We have to take care of this.”</p><p>Theta finally looks up, his green eyes wide as saucers.</p><p>“Kos, I can’t-”</p><p>“Shh, it’s alright, you did just fine" Koschei assures him, caressing Theta's broken hand, "We just need to get this cleaned out.”</p><p>Theta looks at his stained fingers again. He can't even see his own skin under the blood. How much of the blood is his? How much is Torvic’s?</p><p>The images rush to his head again, how he pulled the older boy away from Koschei, tackled him to the ground, and hit the rock for the first time.</p><p>How Koschei screamed behind him, but Theta paid no mind, just brought the rock down again. </p><p>Koschei pulling at his shoulders. Screaming. <em> Theta, that’s enough! </em></p><p>The rock hitting Torvic again and again with a crushing sound so peculiar. Theta had never seen a broken skull before. It was almost… lovely.</p><p>He shivers at the memory and Koschei holds him in his arms.</p><p>“It’s okay, it’s all gone now.”</p><p>“No!” he pushes his friends away and pain shoots through his fingers in protest “Koschei, what are you talking about? Nothing is gone!”</p><p>“Thete, please-”</p><p>“I've <em>killed him. </em>”</p><p>“You've done it to save me.”</p><p>“I didn’t have to- to hit him so many times. I didn’t have to- Oh Kos.”</p><p>Koschei shoots Theta a pained glance. His face is a mess, blood drips from his forehead and his nose sits at an odd angle. Probably broken as well.</p><p>“It’s done anyway. Now we have to take care of it.”</p><p>There’s a darkness in Koschei’s voice, but that’s not what scares Theta.</p><p> </p><p>He lets Koschei take his hand and guide him to the river again, where they both clean themselves. It's not dragging Torvic’s body away what scares him either, nor is it setting a fire and hearing the horrible sizzling sound it makes as it lights up. </p><p>It’s also not the smell that scares him, though it sticks horribly to his nose for days, and weeks, and months.</p><p>The thing that terrifies Theta as he lays in his bed, Koschei’s arms wrapped firmly around him, is that he doesn’t regret it one bit.</p><p>To save his best friend’s life, he’d do it again, just as viciously, just as cruelly. Theta places a kiss on the top of Koschei’s head. The sound of bones breaking still rings in his ears as he falls asleep.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Let’s hang out sometime</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Thirteen and Dhawan!Master. Post The Timeless Children. Prompt: no. 1, waking up restrained, shackled</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>“The prisoners will wake up!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The first thing the Doctor registers is that the Judoon monotone doesn't get less obnoxious with further exposition to with. Bummer, she was really hoping it would.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The second, is the use of the plural. She has been alone in her cell during her entire stay, and a Judoon wouldn't accidentally say 'prisoners' if there was just her, which means they've locked someone up with her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>(that leads her to a side thought she prefers not to visit at the moment)</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The third thing is the soreness on her wrists.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Oh, come on. I've been a model prisoner this whole time. Is this really necessary?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"The prisoners will not speak!"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The Doctor wiggles her wrists, testing the strength of the shackles holding them over her head. They are pretty tight. Very efficient. Very Judoon-y. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"May I ask why I have been restrained?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She half expects to be ignored, but part of the guard's training must have involved telling prisoners their rights.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Because of your attempted escape, you have lost the privilege of no shackles."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Attempted escape? I haven't-"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"The prisoners will not speak! You will await further trial in silence!"</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The guard leaves and shuts the door and the Doctor considers she should go back to that side thought. She doesn't want to though.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And yet, the feeling of a person next to her is much too noticeable to be ignored.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She can feel the shackles tearing the skin on her wrists as she turns to get a better look.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The Judoon wouldn't put prisoners of different species in the same cell. But they might've read River as a Time Lord, that had happened sometimes. However unlikely, it wasn't impossible for their timelines to cross again. She could potentially meet River again. And in a prison! That would be appropriate, wouldn't it?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But when had the Doctor ever been so lucky?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Hi, love."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Why are you here?" she bites back at him, but the Master just laughs.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Well, I'm rescuing you, of course."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She takes notice of his purple eye, but won't let that make her sympathize with him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"You're terrible at rescue attempts."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Well, hello to you too. Why tying us up like this? It's killing my shoulders."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She raises a smug eyebrow to him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Your first time, I take it?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Well, in this body," he looks at her frowning "How many times have </span>
  <em>
    <span>you</span>
  </em>
  <span> been tied up?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"To be honest, it's been happening with annoying regularity."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"You know what? The least I know about your antics the better. Now get yourself sorted, we're getting out of here."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The Doctor gives a dry laugh.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"What makes you think I'd go anywhere with you?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I don't know if you noticed, but you have no other means to escape."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"And I don't know if </span>
  <em>
    <span>you </span>
  </em>
  <span>noticed, but you're just as tied up as me."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Do you really think I would come here without a plan?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Oh, no I think you would have a plan. It would fail spectacularly because you aligned yourself with people who backstab you and, in the end, you would find yourself in a direr situation than when you started."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>If looks could kill, the Doctor would have lost three regenerations from a single glance. She can't help but to grin.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Whatever, love. You can come with me or you can rot here. When I tell you to jump, jump."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"What?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Alarms blare from every direction. The heavy boots of the Judoon can be heard going down the corridor.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"You do have a plan!" she says, not without a touch of admiration. The Master avoids her eyes, a light blush reaching his face.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"When the right frequency reaches this room, it will jam the shackles' mechanism and they'll fall open. We'll only have a few seconds, so-"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Jump when you tell me to jump, got it. But, Master..."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"What?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Why are you helping me? I thought-"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"You thought right. Probably."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Then why?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The Master lowers his eyes. It's almost - the Doctor can't help thinking - sweet. How vulnerable he looks, with his big sad eyes, tied up in that sterile Judoon cell. Saving her. Apparently.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"The Universe is pretty empty without you."</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Let’s hang out sometime pt. 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Thirteen and Dhawan!Master. Post The Timeless Children. Prompt: no. 6, "get it out".  It's a sequel to the previous chapter, but it can be read independently.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>"Now what?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It occurs to the Doctor that she should be asking that. He's the one who saved her. He's the one who held all the cards so far. But it's on her TARDIS that they make their escape and she's the one navigating it, even if she has no destination in mind.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Now we go back to our lives, I suppose," she answers, because she doesn't know what else she should say.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"And what is that?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The question hits her like a punch in the guts. What </span>
  <em>
    <span>is </span>
  </em>
  <span>that? Carnage and destruction for him? Lying to her friends for her? The Doctor doesn't want to consider the implications of any of that. She just wants to rest.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The Master meanwhile is just standing there. Waiting.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I think a nice bath and a good night's sleep won't hurt."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He doesn't protest.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It's not until hours later that she hears him screaming.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The Doctor stumbles out of bed, still half-asleep, and races through the corridors of the TARDIS looking for him. She blinks against the harsh lights and finds the Master curled up on the floor holding his head in his hands.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"NO! STOP!"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She rushes to his side.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Master, what is it? What is happening?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"GET IT OUT!"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She notices for the first time then. Beneath the sickly pallor of his skin, a silver sheen spreading, like burst blood vessels.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"The cyberium's still in you?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I couldn't- I pushed it down, but it's- It wants to-" the keeps him from speaking as he contorts on the floor. The Doctor grabs him from under his arms and</span>
  <span> half carries, half drags him to the TARDIS med bay. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"How do I fix this?" she asks, in panic. The ship blinks in distress. It also doesn't know what to do.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Just get it out," he groans "Please."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I don't know how to do that. You're the brilliant one, remember?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He manages to let out a pained laugh, </span>
  <span>"Shut up."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The Doctor takes a deep breath and holds his head between her hands </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"What are you doing?" he asks, with a note of panic in his voice</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Finding a way to help."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He grabs her hands and pulls them away.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"You can't take it."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"It's </span>
  <em>
    <span>hurting</span>
  </em>
  <span> you."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"And it will hurt you even more. It wants to be obeyed and, sorry, love, but you're terrible at taking orders."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The Doctor doesn't relent, pulling her wrists from his surprisingly strong grasp.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Then I'll take from you, so you can think of something, then we'll get it out of me."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"It doesn't work like that."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"</span>
  <em>
    <span>Then what?</span>
  </em>
  <span>" she asks, desperate, sagging by his side.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“There’s something you can do,” he whispers. The Doctor sees something in his eyes. The same hopeless, angry darkness she’d seen in Gallifrey.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He wails in pain and it shatters her hearts. But she can’t, she won’t, they’ll find a way.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I won’t last much longer anyway.” His words seem to make the cyberium stronger. It shines even brighter under his skin.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The Doctor can feel a tear rolling down her cheek. She can’t let that happen. She could kill him and hope for a regeneration. But she doesn’t even know if he still has those. And in any way, the cyberium might kill him halfway through. They can’t risk it, she has to find a way, she has-</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Doctor…” his voice is strained, pained.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ve got an idea,” she decides “What if we-”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No,” he stops her “It’s in my brain. It knows my thoughts. It’ll make me stop you if it knows what you want.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh. Okay.” that would hurt so much more if he didn’t know what she was planning “No time to waste, then!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She grabs his face again, and starts to will the cyberium out.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Doctor, no! Stop it!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She ignores him and his attempts of pushing her away. The Master claws at her arms, shoves her, even tries to kick her, until she climbs on the bed and straddles him, leaning on his torso to try and keep him still.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I swear to Rassilon, I’m gonna kill you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Shut up,” she hisses through gritted teeth.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The effort of pulling the cyberium against the Master’s will is exhausting, physically and mentally. Even with her whole weight on top of him, he is still struggling.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Doctor, please. Stop,</span>
  </em>
  <span> he says in her mind and he’s never sounded so sad. She shakes her head and her touch on his face is almost tender.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Trust me.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>As the cyberium slowly makes his way out of the Master, the Doctor backs away, leaving space for it. Neither she nor the Master stops pulling. It’s a tug of war, a game. The game they've always been playing. No victors, no losers - except those who stood between them, of course.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Trapped between the irresistible gravity of two Time Lords, the cyberium twitches, incapable of moving either way. The Doctor opens a feral smile and he finally understands. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, you’re brilliant.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Exposed as it is, the cyberium is open to attacks, and that’s when the TARDIS kicks in. The med bay identifies it as a contaminant and seals it in a small vacuum box. </span>
  <span>The Doctor laughs triumphantly and falls into the bed by the Master’s side, worn out.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“This won’t hold it for long, you know.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Give me five minutes. I’m- so tired.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He laughs, sounding even more tired than her. “Okay, five minutes.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Her arm is still outstretched over the Master’s torso and he, tentatively, touches her hand, plays with her fingers.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why’d you saved me? You could've gotten us both killed.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She turns to him and smiles.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What you said. A universe without you… That’s just boring.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Apparently, I'm unable to write whump without fluff?</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. turn out the light in your eyes</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Ten and Simm!Master. The Year That Never Was. Prompt: no.11, defiance</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>It's the Year That Never Was, so expect a slightly more unhealthy depiction of their relationship. Warning for implied torture, attempted non-consensual psychic connection, and overall skewed power dynamics.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p><em>"I will put you there and turn out the light in your eyes and come to stare at you for centuries, to pore over you, because you are mine, my treasure, my hoard."</em> (Deathless, Catherynne M. Valente)</p><p> </p><hr/><p>The Doctor has already gotten used to the aging and de-aging process the Master puts him through. It was painful at first, but it feels more like a dull toothache now. He understands what the Master's deal is. When he is parading the Doctor in front of the humans, in front of those who thought he would be their saviour, a being akin to a god, the Master wants him old, weak, and frail. <em> Does this look like a god to you? </em> </p><p>When they are alone, though, he makes him young again. To savour the Doctor's uselessness while he appears young and strong. <em> Look how low I can bring you even when you seem to be at the height of your might. </em></p><p>It's all an act, one the Doctor learned to pay no mind to, because that is exactly what the Master wants.</p><p>Now, for instance, he is trapped in his room. A force field keeps him from walking out the door, so it appears that nothing is holding him there, just obedience and fear.</p><p>"Hello, Doctor. Enjoying your day? A few more thousand humans died today, I'm sure you'll appreciate hearing."</p><p>The Doctor looks away from him. It's an act, all an act and he won't cry in front of the Master again.</p><p>"Oh, come on. Give me a smile and I might even give you a threat. I won't kill the freak today. Eh, well, okay I kill him just once, what do you think?"</p><p>"Where's Lucy?"</p><p>It's worse when Lucy is around, with her hollow eyes and dead smile. Nothing but a puppet in the Master's hands. But whenever she isn't around, the Doctor fears for the girl's safety.</p><p>"My, my, worried about her are you? Sorry, Doctor. She is my pet, not yours. You've got several for yourself already, and I will not share."</p><p>The Doctor keeps quiet. Anything he might say now will probably be the wrong thing.</p><p>"Are you jealous, Doctor?" the Master asks, leaning closer to the force field "Jealous I finally got a human for myself?"</p><p>"What would I be jealous of? She doesn't mean anything to you."</p><p>"Oh, there it is, ladies and gentlemen! A Time Lord, gazing down on humanity, as he should. Acknowledging their inferiority."</p><p>"That's not what I said."</p><p>"But it's what you feel, Doctor. Be honest. Deep down, you know. These pets, your <em>companions </em>. They mean nothing. They pass like mayflies in your life and then they're gone again."</p><p>The Doctor looks up to him in defiance. His face a careful mask of strength. <em>You're wrong</em>, it says.</p><p>The Master takes a step closer, unconvinced. "All you have for real is me."</p><p>The Doctor doesn't change his expression, but behind his eyes, a series of things happen. He raises his mental shields, creates new barriers, hides his feelings deeper and deeper. He can't admit, can't give in to the Master, can't make himself even more <em>his.  </em></p><p>Because his best enemy, his oldest friend, is not entirely wrong. Everything changes and everyone leaves. There is only one constant in the Doctor's life and that is the Master, and it pains him. It hurts him so much that, even now, at the Master's cruelest and darkest, the Doctor can't help but feel a wave of relief when he sees him alive, so very much alive. It eases the suffering of the Time War, makes all that horror just a little bit less, because the Doctor is not alone and hasn't lost his best friend, and that space in his hearts, the space that has always belonged to the Master, is no longer empty.</p><p>But he cannot know that, so the Doctor folds it, and buries it, covers it with layers of everything else that he loves.</p><p>"Stop that." the Master snarls</p><p>"What?"</p><p>"I can feel it. Stop setting more shields. What are you trying to hide from me?"</p><p>The Master might not be in connection to the Doctor (oh, and how he misses this too, the entanglement of their minds, when they were children in Gallifrey, not knowing where one ended and the other began) but he can still feel the faint echo of psychic defenses. The Doctor smiles in fake innocence at the Master.</p><p>"I don't know what you mean."</p><p>"Doctor..." he teases, playfully, but the Doctor can feel the rage, simmering just below. </p><p>"Master," the Doctor answers in the same tone.</p><p>He looks at the Doctor more intently now. He pushes against his brain, but it's too angry and, therefore, ineffective. Faced with nothing but smoke and mirrors, the Master pulls away, gasping. He straightens himself, adjusts his suit, and wipes every sign of his desperation. An act. Like all the others.</p><p>"You know, what? I think I owe myself some fun with captain Jack today."</p><p>"No, leave him be!" the Doctor pushes against the invisible barrier "You can have me. "</p><p>The Master purses his lips, turns off the force field, and takes a step inside the room.</p><p>"I already have you," he whispers, running his hand over the Doctor's cheek. He grabs him forcefully by the nape of the neck and leans against his forehead.</p><p>The Doctor flinches under the Master's harsh grip, under the telepathic pressure that enters his brain again. <em>Yes, you may have me. But not like this.  </em></p><p>"I. Have.You."</p><p>Still he doesn't let him in, but touches the Master's hand with a tenderness the other Time Lord doesn't deserve. <em>If you'd let them go, you could. We could be happy. </em></p><p>The Master laughs, bitter. He pulls his hand away and the pressure leaves the Doctor's mind. He walks out of the room, closes the force field, and points one finger at his friend, his eyes dark, and endless, and cold.</p><p>"I will have you."</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. I'm always in this twilight, in the shadow of your heart</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Twelve and Missy. Vault. Prompt: no. 26, blindness</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>
    <span>The memories are so much worse in the dark.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>"Missy?"</p><p>"No."</p><p>
  <span>She's locked him out for "an indeterminate amount of time". That means the Vault is off-limits to the Doctor until Missy feels like having him around again, because his oath of watching over her body doesn't mean he has to literally look at her. And it's not like he can do that right now anyway.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But she can hear him on the other side, that deep sadness and endless worry of him. Worry that, if his newest pet knows he’s blind, all hell will break loose. Well, given the amount of ill-advised faith they all have on the Doctor, it might as well happen.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know I’m still locked out, but I- I could really use a friend now.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Then go to them,” she chirps from the other side of the door “Your friends. Your Bill, and your Nardole, and people you actually appreciate.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Missy, please. I know I shouldn’t, but I’m just- I’m just so tired.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She opens the door all at once, making the Doctor stagger inside the Vault.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It's just a nuisance dear. It'll pass.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don't think it will.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He walks uneasily through the unobstructed path, his sonic shades not as precise when dealing with the quantum folding nature of the Vault.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The Doctor scared. Now that’s a sight I can properly appreciate. C’mon, sit down, you old fool.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She grabs him by his arms and leads him to his favourite armchair. Missy kneels in front of him and pulls the shades away.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Was it worth to play the hero to the girl? Now look at you, all sorrowful. Frowning even more than usual, if that's possible.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It was to save Bill’s life. You like Bill.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Just because she's your least boring topic of conversation, doesn't mean I like a</span>
  <em>
    <span> human.</span>
  </em>
  <span> One I don't even know at that.” she turns the shades around on her hands “Those won’t take you too far, dear.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m aware.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Also, that’s not the problem, is it? You didn’t come to me over faulty technology. It’s the helplessness you hate.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The Doctor lowers his head, his hands folded in his lap. He looks defeated. Missy knows this is the only place in the universe he’ll allow himself to show his pain.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Missy takes a deep breath. She has to help him. It’s not like she </span>
  <em>
    <span>wants to</span>
  </em>
  <span>, but of course she will. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Give me your hands,” she orders and, at his raised eyebrow, grabs them herself and places them on her face.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Tell me what you're touching.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You,” he says, flatly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Explain it to me! Describe it. You've lost your sight, you have to rely on other things.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Slowly, the Doctor runs his fingers over her cheeks.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“These are your cheekbones. Very high, very sharp. It’s pretty.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thank you, dear, go on.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Gingerly, he passes his thumbs over her eyes. “These are blue.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Just like yours.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, they’re a different shade. Brighter.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>His hands keep moving and he describes her hair, her ears. He goes lower.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Your lips, I- sometimes you put lipstick on them, but- I don't think you've done so today, they feel-”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>His finger lingers on her lower lip.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It feels nice.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Missy smiles and the Doctor blushes. It’s endearing. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And this?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She guides his hands to her chest, the Doctor holds his breath at her increased heartbeat. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Two hearts.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And both of them yours.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The Doctor takes his hands away from her body, seeking hers.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Missy..." he whispers in an urgent plead.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"The memories do feel so much worse in the dark, don't they?" she answers, putting his hands back in his lap and getting to her feet. She walks away from him "I'm sure you can see yourself out, dear."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The Doctor remains seated for another few seconds, catching his breath. But he finally rises and bows his head to Missy.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Thank you." it's genuine, she can tell.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Anytime you need, Doctor."</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>This is the end of my Whumptober stories! I might add more to this collection if the muse strikes, but this work is essentially completed. Hope you have enjoyed! Kudos and comments are always appreciated :)</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
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